LONDON (Reuters) - Nigeria's crude oil exports are expected to rise slightly to about 1.70 million barrels per day (bpd) in March from 1.66 million bpd in February, trade sources said on Tuesday.
March exports, though set to rise mildly from the previous month, are down from 1.88 million bpd in December 2008 following deals by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output and outages.
The lower shipment schedule adds to signs that OPEC is following through on deals to trim output in order to bolster crude oil prices that have collapsed by more than $100 a barrel since the summer.
Around 129,000 bpd of light, sweet Brass River crude is expected to be shipped in March, down by 65,000 bpd from December due to delays to production, traders said.
Nigeria's Bonny Light crude oil stream is expected to load three cargoes in March, unchanged from February.
Qua Iboe is expected to ship nine cargoes, or 275,000 bpd, also steady from the previous month.
The export rate in March indicates that Nigeria plans to produce oil in line with its implied OPEC production target of 1.67 million bpd that took effect on January 1, following three OPEC deals to lower supply.
Exports from fellow African OPEC member Angola are also expected to be lower in March due to supply curbs.
Angola is set to export 1.5 million bpd in March, down from 1.6 million bpd in February due to shipment delays and OPEC supply curbs, trade sources said earlier this month.
The drop in supply of high-quality West African crude has supported its value against benchmark dated Brent.
On Monday, traders valued Qua at dated plus $3.00 a barrel if not higher, up from at least dated plus $2.50 on Friday.
March exports, though set to rise mildly from the previous month, are down from 1.88 million bpd in December 2008 following deals by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output and outages.
The lower shipment schedule adds to signs that OPEC is following through on deals to trim output in order to bolster crude oil prices that have collapsed by more than $100 a barrel since the summer.
Around 129,000 bpd of light, sweet Brass River crude is expected to be shipped in March, down by 65,000 bpd from December due to delays to production, traders said.
Nigeria's Bonny Light crude oil stream is expected to load three cargoes in March, unchanged from February.
Qua Iboe is expected to ship nine cargoes, or 275,000 bpd, also steady from the previous month.
The export rate in March indicates that Nigeria plans to produce oil in line with its implied OPEC production target of 1.67 million bpd that took effect on January 1, following three OPEC deals to lower supply.
Exports from fellow African OPEC member Angola are also expected to be lower in March due to supply curbs.
Angola is set to export 1.5 million bpd in March, down from 1.6 million bpd in February due to shipment delays and OPEC supply curbs, trade sources said earlier this month.
The drop in supply of high-quality West African crude has supported its value against benchmark dated Brent.
On Monday, traders valued Qua at dated plus $3.00 a barrel if not higher, up from at least dated plus $2.50 on Friday.